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March 2009

March 31, 2009

I read a daily blog for Entrepreneurs called the Toilet Paper Entrepreneur Blog. Thursday's post was about increasing revenue, and I think that most of the suggestions can be applied to collision repair shops as well. Here are some of the ideas:

Hand-written notes asking for referrals - Write a note to your customers after repairing their vehicle thanking them for their business. Tell them that you would appreciate their referral to a friend or family member. If their friend or family member brings in that note, they will get a discount on their repair.

The non-pushy upsell - When a customer comes in for an estimate, or you get a referral from an insurance company, give the customer an "upgrade card" that they can use when they are getting their vehicle repaired. The "upgrade" can be a discount off another service that you offer such as detailing or striping. This will help increase your average transaction amount.

Get "stealthy" referrals - This one is simple - put "We love referrals" on every invoice you give your customers and in every correspondence (add to your e-mail signature, perhaps?). Your satisfied customers are your best source of word-of-mouth advertising.

An amazing way to get competitors calls - Go through the yellow pages and call on your competitor's ads. Call your local phone company and have all of the disconnected numbers from shops that have closed around you assigned to ring to your number. That will get you some calls. (Great idea, but you may want to check the legality of this one before you do it) If you do this, let me know if it worked for you.

I liked these ideas because they are all low cost and can be implemented immediately.

March 30, 2009

Mark Claypool is our latest Topics in Ten podcast guest. He spends some time with Jen discussing how collision repair shops need to focus on developing their technicians in order to give themselves a competitive edge.

"Now is the time to establish a plan to train and provide clear career paths for employees. Shops that make the effort will be able to realize greater ROI and be well positioned to hold onto top staff once the job market loosens again. A technician who is mentored and supported can become a producer in 90 days, compared to the industry average of 4-6 years. It’s a very worthwhile investment," says Claypool.

The podcast can be heard at www.scenegenesis.com by clicking the podcast link at the top of the page. Be sure to listen in, Mark's got some really great points to think about.

March 26, 2009

I subscribe to an email newsletter from Promo Magazine that gives promo highlights a couple of times a week. We don't see many of them here, in Upstate, as we are not a first-tier media market. However, there are always stunts happening in NYC. Just for fun, I thought it would be interesting to highlight what came in my morning inbox. The stories Promo covered highlights what happens when you have a bit of a budget to carry out all sorts of ideas. See what ones benefit the end consumer most...here we go:

1. Disney is releasing its first feature-length film from their Disneynature documentary label. During the film's first week of release, they will plant a tree for each ticket sold. Summary: You buy a ticket, they plant a tree.

2. Nickelodeon is celebrating ten years of Spongebob by creating "pop up stores" within Walmarts. They are called the "Happy Place" and are packed with Spongebob merchandise. Summary: Go to your happy place and spend money on your kids.

3. Proctor and Gamble (maker of Charmin TP) is backing a web site that helps people find clean public restrooms anywhere on the planet. The site is called sitorsquat. Summary: Who can live without this?

What are some of the types of promos you see around you? Which of these is your favorite? Would any of them make you think more positively about their products?

March 23, 2009

Why: Come join us! You'll get active jobs delivered right to your email. You decide if you want to submit a proposal on the job or not. No sweat. It's free to register and free to receive info about open jobs.

March 18, 2009

I went to pick up some furniture last week that I ordered from a local furniture store. I was instructed on where to pick up my items by my sales representative a couple days prior. I got to the location and there was a loading area, and someone from the company loading items into another person's vehicle. He did not acknowledge me, so I went inside the door of the loading area and read the sign with instructions (if you can call them that). No one was at the desk inside the door, so I waited. I was on my lunch break, so I was feeling anxious and hurried to get my items and get back to work. Finally, the loading person that had already passed me 4 or 5 times glanced at my receipt without a word and disappeared into the storage room. It was then that I realized that I was finally being "assisted".

Good manners are very important in an industry where you are servicing customers. Sometimes, employees need a reminder of what constitutes good manners and customer service. This blog article reminded me of the basics of good etiquette as it relates to business. Here are some things that you should be monitoring.

Are your employees dressed appropriately for their position?

Do they communicate without shouting, swearing or using slang?

Are your customers greeted graciously either in person or over the phone? Customers should always be greeted with a smile, even if they are on the phone.

Are your employees able to handle issues and come up with a resolution? This means listening to the issue, paraphrasing the situation back to the customer, identifying the resolution and communicating that back to the customer?

Are your customers thanked for their business? Customers should be thanked in person, or in a handwritten note where appropriate.

Making the effort to provide excellent customer service can be the difference between the customer coming back to you for business, or going to your competitor.

If the loading person had said to me when I got there, "I'll be right with you", I would have felt less anxious while waiting and that my business was of importance to them.

March 17, 2009

Shops of all sizes are invited to enter the SceneExchange Repair
Your Logo makeover contest, and entrants have until April 1, 2009 to
submit their shop name, contact information, and reason why they should
receive a logo makeover via email at support@sceneexchange.com. The winning logo, valued at $3,000, will be revealed in Spring 2009.

“We
work with shops all the time – and 98 percent of them feel they never
have enough money to put toward marketing. This is a chance for the
winning business to build their brand without shelling out the money
themselves,” says our own Chrisa Hickey, director of product management, Scene
Genesis. “A strong shop logo enhances the crucial first impression of
your business. It also establishes a brand identity and provides a
professional look – SceneExchange is all about marketing your shop to
new potential customers, so offering a logo makeover is a natural fit.”

Also, here are the three main considerations to keep in mind when creating a company logo:

• Who are your best target customers? What is visually appealing and meaningful to them?

• What is the strategic position your company wants to establish in the minds of customers in your marketplace?

• How do you want your logo to differentiate you from your competition?

We hope you'll enter! Or if your logo is in great shape, tell your fellow shops to enter!

March 16, 2009

An effective safety program is crucial to a collision repair shop. A safe work environment prevents incidents which cause injury and business interruption. When implemented properly, you can also achieve productivity gains and reduce costs.

Let's take a look at the most common injuries and how they can be prevented.

Eye injuries are the most frequent type of injury in a collision repair shop. This happens mostly when particles impact unprotected eyes while using grinders and sanders to prep vehicles. To prevent eye injuries, develop a policy about eye protection use in your shop. Work with your employees to find eye protection that works for them. If you allow them to pick out their own protective eyewear, they will be more likely to use it.

Finger cuts are the second most common type of injury. This happens most often while using blades and knives while prepping a vehicle for painting. To reduce this type of injury, offer protective gloves. Many work gloves will help protect fingers from sheet metal, glass and other sharp objects. Always cut away from your body, rather than toward yourself. Also, keep your blades and knives sharp to avoid extra force from being needed.

Back and musculoskeletal injuries are the most costly injuries because of the time loss associated. These usually result from lifting heavy objects and while disassembling and prepping vehicles in awkward positions. Consider storing heavy objects between knee and shoulder level. Use jacks and lifting aids for lifting and holding heavy parts for installation. Use rolling work stands to avoid having to bend over and pick up tools and provide pads for fenders and body so the worker can lean against the vehicle while working on the middle of the vehicle.

Respiratory (lung) diseases are common among collision repairers (like work-related asthma) due to exposure to polyurethane-based coatings, linings and paint. No exposed skin should come into contact with catalysts, hardeners, or mixed coating and paint products, therefore extended cuff nitrile gloves, chemical resistant shoot suits, headsocks and other coverings should be provided to your employees. Clean up catalyst and hardener spills promptly and wash any exposed skin thoroughly. Supply an air respirator with a properly maintained compressor to deliver sufficient uncontaminated air. Read the MSDs for your products to find out if they contain isocyanates and other hazardous chemicals - avoid these where possible. Encourage workers to see their doctor immediately if they have symptoms such as wheezing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, or coughing. These could be an indication of asthma which if diagnosed early and treated properly, can improve.

March 12, 2009

Ever wish that your guzzler guzzled less? That you could ride around town with electric power? That you could enjoy the benefits of an electric car even if your car is not currently one of the models the auto manufacturers make?

Well, look into the Alternative Fuel Credits available in your state and find out if a conversion can be reimbursed (Colorado, for example, will cover 100% of cars older than 10 years and 85% of newer vehicles), then track down a company like Ree-V that can do the deed.

March 10, 2009

With all that's going on with the economy, and with the exceptionally bad unemployment figures in places like Michigan, there is a growing call from government officials, consumer organizations, and pundits for big companies to help the little guy out until this blows over. Last month, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm joined the call, asking auto insurance companies to freeze personal auto insurance rates in the state for 12 months.

Several of the state's smaller insurers heard the call and have pledged to freeze rates until February 2010. Among the 12 carriers taking the pledge are Great Lakes Casualty Insurance Company, Merchants Mutual, and Liberty Mutual. Kudos to them for putting their policy holders ahead of profits.

We have all read and heard about the devastation that would befall the world's economy if AIG was allowed to go under, and the billions of dollars lent/given to AIG by both the Federal Government and the State of New York. But can one company really have such an impact on world finance?

Yes, it can, says The Motley Fool's columnists, when companies are heavily diversified and become and empire unto themselves. They refer to history, specifically, ITT, a company that started down the road to becoming a huge conglomerate in the 1960's, and owned everything from The Hartford Insurance Group to Sheraton Hotels. By 1995, amid disasterous financial results and scandal, the company had to be broken up.

Almost everyone underestimated how complex the intertwining relationships between Wall Street and Main Street were, and more importantly, the relationships between the global economies. China needed demand from American consumers; American markets needed capital from Chinese savers; consumers relied on that capital to fund a free-for-all real estate market; banks rerouted the proceeds into a secondary credit market that couldn’t care less about loan quality. It was a disaster waiting to happen, and as soon as one end of the self-fulfilling cycle shut off, the entire house of cards came crumbling down in a historic way.

Andrew Sullivan backs this up, agreeing that AIG did well in its insurance business, particularly personal lines. But Sullivan states three rules for insurance companies, only two of which AIG followed:

Insurance is terribly simple, as long as you follow the Three Rules:

Price your risk correctly.

Invest conservatively so you can pay out claims when they come due.

Don't do anything else.

Sit back and collect the spread. That's it, folks.

Seriously, that is it. Ask Warren Buffett, and he'll probably tell you that if you follow those three rules, you'll be fine. You won't be the biggest or fastest grower, but you'll be absolutely fine.

The problems come when you get greedy and aren't satisfied with the spread. And your greed can lead to certain actions that aren't stated anywhere in the rules, including:

Diversifying into fast-money proprietary trading.

Leveraging your company 11-to-1.

Neither of these is a goal of a well-run insurance company, yet AIG embraced both with open arms.

This isn't restricted to just insurance companies, by the way. I hope General Electric is listening.